Electrical plug connectors and plug-connector systems are known in diverse embodiments from the prior art. There are plug connectors in which a lever has to be thrown in order to close a housing of the plug connector and/or to produce an electrical connection. It is also known to lock such a lever in its closed position by means of a locking mechanism. In order to move the lever which is locked in the closed position back into its open position, first of all the locking mechanism has to be released. It has been shown that incorrect operation of such plug connectors, for example an attempt to move the locked lever into the open position without releasing the locking mechanism beforehand, can result in damage to the locking mechanism and hence to the entire plug connector.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved plug connector. This object is achieved by a plug connector having the features of claim 1. Preferred developments are set forth in the dependent claims.
A plug connector according to the invention has a housing with a cap, the cap in turn having a lever which can adopt a first position and a second position. In this case, the housing is opened in the first position of the lever and closed in the second position of the lever. The plug connector further has a locking device which can adopt a blocking position which is intended to lock the lever in the second position. Furthermore, the locking device is elastically movable out of its blocking position into a release position in order to unlock the lever in the second position. Furthermore, the locking device is elastically movable out of its blocking position into an overload position in order to unlock the lever in the second position if a force exerted on the lever exceeds a set value. In this case, the overload position differs from the release position. Advantageously, with this plug connector the lever is also released from the second position when the locking device has not previously been moved into the release position, but a force exerted on the lever exceeds a set minimum value. This advantageously avoids damage to the locking device, the lever or other components of the plug connector which would otherwise be a risk. Advantageously, the plug connector is then still functional even after incorrect operation or inadvertent opening of the lever.